The Ties that Bind
by SilentTrainConductor
Summary: Missing Scene for Pariah


_A/N: A quick story before I head off fer two weeks. I got the idea and had to write it down before I left D I hope to read many additions to stories as well as other stories upon my return. Thank you so much for those who reviewed my past story means alot 3 :tap dances: Ok please forgive me for the title, as well as my story's past titles. Can't help it +D Oh yea Missing Scene for Pariah_

**The Ties that Bind**

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Wassat? Hutch lifted his head from the pillow in confusion.

_Tap. Tap. Tap. _

There it was again. Rats? The sound was faint and persistent, after the fog had cleared from his mind, Hutch sat up and cocked his ear towards the noise.

Not rats, no it was the constant drumming of fingers. The weary blond rubbed his eyes and glanced at his clock…5:30 AM…

Aw, Starsk.

Hutch quickly swung the blankets away from him and rose from his position. Raising and stretching his arms as he did so. He gave a large yawn and a brief scratch to his back before he headed out of the bedroom.

Yup, there was his curly haired of a partner sitting at his kitchen table, drumming his fingers, lost in his own world. Hutch noticed that he was already dressed and ready, even if the case wasn't for a _few_ more hours.

Hutch cleared his throat and raised his eyebrow at his partner, who jumped slightly at the new noise. Starsky bowed his head and gave a small grin.

"Couldn't sleep…" Hutch nodded and made his way to the refrigerator.

"Why didn't you call?" Not that Hutch minded, no, not in the slightest, rather Hutch had asked and Starsky had insisted in sleeping in his own apartment. Starsky kept silent, looking down at his shoes.

"Thought you needed the sleep." He finally answered, not meeting Hutch's eyes. It was a good thing too, for Hutch rolled them in a brief annoyance. Here was his best friend suffering alone because he was too afraid he would disturb Hutch…

"So you thought you would come over and wait for me in the dark…" he began to tease but stopped in shock as Starsky's head snapped up, pain in his eyes.

"Aww, jeez Hutch I didn't mean to scare ya…" _Scare me…?_ The confusion only lasted for a quarter of a second. Oh…Forest.

"Buddy, you didn't scare me. I was only joking…the thought didn't even cross my mind…" It was Hutch's turn to bow his head. "I thought you were a couple of rats getting into my sea kelp."

"I hate to tell you Hutch, but no rat with half a mind would go after that stuff you call food…"

"You did." Hutch reminded with a grin.

"Yea? That was different…" Starsky glared at Hutch, in a way that said Hutch would get his. Sooner or later…

Hutch hoped it was later.

"So have you eaten?"

"No, don't have anything in there worth eating." Starsky sniffed in disgust before settling into his reverie that Hutch had found him in. Hutch glanced into his refrigerator and found that Starsky was right. Nothing but some loaves of bread growing some mold…great.

"Want to go out to eat?" No answer. "Starsk?"

"Wha-? Yea…sure…" Hutch hesitated…Starsky so rarely let himself get lost in his thoughts so deeply.

"Hey buddy, want to talk about it?"

"Not now, ok Hutch?" The blond squeezed his friend's shoulder tightly.

"All right, I'm going to take a shower. Be right back, ok?"

"Ok, be careful" Starsky winked and turned his gaze back onto the table.

"You to buddy…" Hutch whispered as he wandered into his restroom. _Don't let your thoughts be carried too far. _

When Hutch came out of the restroom he noticed that Starsky had settled into watching TV. Hutch went into his bedroom and called out to him.

"What are you rotting your brain with now Starsk?" A muffled voice responded.

"Errol Flynn" Hutch glanced at his bedside clock and frowned. The time blinked 6:02.

"This early?"

"Ya! Come watch with me…" Hutch stepped out of his bedroom and noticed that Starsky had found a bag of chips from somewhere. Hutch fumbled with his shirt buttons and sat next to his enthralled partner.

"Look at that Hutch!" Starsky leaned forward and focused all his attention to the screen before him, as a child might. The movie was in black and white and Errol Flynn could be swinging from a ship's mast.

"Didn't know you liked Flynn this much Starsk"

"I don't…I mean…" Great going Hutchinson, look at what you did to your partner…Starsky had regained that far off dreamy look on his face and kept watching the screen with a tiny frown.

"My father loved him when he was younger… I remember going to the movies with him and watching all of these."

"Happy memories then?"

"Yea." Starsky grinned and shifted his weight to face Hutch and began speaking with his hands. "We would race to the theatre and I would beg him to buy the biggest popcorn size there was, and he always told me how I would never finish it. I never did."

"You?" Hutch questioned with a gasp of horror. "Not finish food?"

"Hah hah ha, wise guy, it was huge! I begged my dad to have some and he would eat one or two and then stopped his attention completely on the movie. The movies were fun, don't get me wrong, but I always struggled with the popcorn hoping I would finish it this time."

Hutch shook his head in amusement and noted with solemnity on how Starsky had dropped his hands and looked down at them.

"My dad would then buy me model ships with what little money we had, and we would spend nights building them together, exchanging stories and adventures…I was Captain David...Ma always complained that Dad never spent enough time with her or Nicky, I remember my dad calling out 'Giving him time to grow up with you before he's stuck with me, like poor Davey over here'" Starsky paused, and those unshed tears present before began to fall.

"Hutch…I didn't give that kid a chance to grow up. I didn't give him a chance to grow up with his mom….he could've changed Hutch…" Hutch pulled Starsky towards him into a hug, after a few minutes Starsky pulled away, sniffling. "Sorry, don't know why I'm so soapy today…lack of sleep does that to a guy…"

"Lack of sleep huh?" Hutch stood up held up his finger "I'll be right back." Before Starsky could question where he was going, Hutch left and disappeared into the bedroom once more. He then came back out holding a box labeled "Dad stuff"

Curious Starsky scooted forward, Hutch hardly ever mentioned his dad, and to have a box filled with his stuff…well! Who wouldn't be curious?

Hutch sat back down in his spot next to Starsky and blew on the box, dust and other tiny particles blowing across the room with the force. Starsky peered inside and gazed curiously into Hutch's eyes.

"It's a bunch of ties." Hutch shrugged at his friend's lack of enthusiasm.

"Well sure Starsk, what did you expect? Gold? Nah, this is how my dad and I bonded, I guess you could call it." Hutch gave an amused snort and dumped the contents onto the couch. "See my dad never gave up the idea that I would become a lawyer, just like him. So we always went out together and he would pick out suits that made me look professional, the only thing he let me pick were these here ties."

"What's this?" Starsky picked one out from the bunch and held it up with an amused grin. It was striped and dazzled with odd designs; Hutch blushed and took it from him.

"This is the one I took to my grandfather's funeral, my dad hated it, but I knew how much this tie made my grandpa laugh"

"It's no small wonder…"Starsky snickered and Hutch turned a deeper shade of red.

"I was a kid all right?"

"Excuses Hutchinson, excuses." Hutch kept on grinning and looked through the ties and made an "Ah ha" noise and pulled the plainest looking tie of the bunch.

"This is the Hutchinson family tie, the one who dons this magnificent tie never looses a case, or in my grandfather's case…a cow."

"Yea?"

"Yup," Hutch held it out to Starsky, "And I give the great honor" Hutch bowed his head slightly "…of letting you wear this tie"

"You know, you should have given me this tie before, and not have lost a life." There was a brief pause and the blond spoke up again.

"Well yes, but then I would have lost a partner." He made a motion of being gagged and then let his head hang, his arm up in the air holding the imaginary tie. "And I would've lost the second Hutchinson family tie."

"The second? What happened to the first?"

"Grandpa got it stuck in a tractor…it was his grandfather's, and he was accidentally using it to clean up some mess and it got swallowed up by the tractor." Hutch held up a ripped piece of cloth. "See?" Starsky gazed at his partner with a smirk.

"You're weird, you know that?"

"You remind me often enough, but I just remind myself that you're the weird one, and I forgive you." They looked at each other and gave each other some "ha has" before looking back to the ties.

"You and your family ties, which by the way, are weird too." Hutch stood up and Starsky followed, and they both headed into the bedroom.

"Fine. I'll wear the tie. Really Starsk, you can be so stubborn sometimes."

"I thought I had to wear the tie? I mean, it is after all a case against me…" Hutch slowed his movements as he straightened his tie against his chest. He then slowly turned to Starsky, the same fire that had knocked some sense into Starsky yesterday blazing away with a fierce love.

"Then it's a case against me too, and that makes it our case. Right?" Starsky gulped, trying to get the tightening of his throat, trying to get this wave of emotion to go through him.

"Right. Thanks partner." Hutch nodded with a smile, slapped his hand on Starsky shoulder and called over his shoulder.

"Come on; let's watch the end of the movie before we go out to eat." Starsky was about to make his way out of the door when he noticed that in the wastebasket was a torn up picture of Jeannie and Hutch….the one he had held when he was looking for him.

He had helped Hutch move on from that, there were still times he was still hurting; of course, it had only been a few weeks.

If Hutch could get through that with his help, then Starsky would get through this, and anything else that came across him. With Hutch. Starsky swallowed again, the emotion trying to make itself present again. He was lucky…they were so lucky…

"Starsky! What are you doing in there? You coming?"

"Yea…" Starsky murmured "I'm already there partner." Starsky took one last look at the shredded piece of history in the can and went to join his partner, knowing that they could face any future. Somehow.

**End. **


End file.
